Now I do not want to be the voice of doom but I feel we do need to get real about Global Warming and it's possible consequences. There are many potentially damaging health effects associated with global warming apart from all the other problems it may bring.
OUR WATER SUPPLIES
As flooding becomes more frequent the quality of our drinking water, and the chances of untreated sewage entering the water source will increase. This could lead to a whole host of diseases spreading or resurfacing. Typhoid which is practically unheard of in western countries these days could surface again.
ILLNESS
Illnesses such as heat stroke may become more common with only a slight increase in the overall temperatures. Sickness, vomiting and diarrhoea will no doubt follow temperature
increases.
LACK OF FOOD
Starvation, famine and poverty with their associated illnesses and diseases will probably happen more. This could happen as crops fail due to drought. As global warming may increase rainfall at times some crops could be flooded and ruined whilst others will become dry and barren. Some farm lands will become useless.
THE AIR THAT YOU BREATH
Air quality is already bad in many large cities and is set to decline further. If air quality declines there will be more asthma and breathing difficulties.
LACK OF HABITABLE SPACE
As water levels rise significantly some countries, or parts of them, will be put under water either temporarily or permanently. This will result in more overcrowding of the habitable land that is left dry. This will obviously be detrimental to health and encourage the spread of disease.
CONCLUSION
Global warming will probably involve some extremes of weather such as flooding, severe cold winters and very hot summers. Obviously these extremes will hit the very youngest and oldest the hardest, as it will the poorest citizens of the world. Let's face it the poorest people in the world will have no chance of upping sticks, moving on and starting over.
Hot climates will mean that there may be more cases of skin cancers or similar damage and so re-education will be important for us all to cope with our changing environment. Unfortunately there are many possibilities of health effects from global warming but sadly very few, in any, are positive ones.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
HOW TO PROTECT AN AGING BODY
Start to protect your body and prepare for the aging process today, no matter what age you are. Developing good eating and exercise habits early in life will carry you through your twilight years with energy and vitality to spare. Important habits include engaging in regular exercise, eating a healthy diet and developing an active mind.
Limit your consumption of alcohol and refined carbohydrates in favor of whole grain, nutritious choices that provide your body and brain with the fuel they need to thrive. Avoid saturated fat and processed sugars as they increase your risk for heart disease and diabetes. Stay hydrated and avoid soda as it saps calcium from your body and leaves you prone to broken bones later in life.
Compound the benefits of a healthy diet with at least 4 hours of exercise each week. Recent studies have suggested that some types of exercise are more beneficial than others for cognitive ability, but all exercise is certain to lower your risk for heart disease and obesity. Exercise increases your blood circulation, which increases blood flow to your brain, nourishing the organ and promoting healthy functioning. With exercise, researchers have generally found that more is better and scientists and doctors alike encourage people to get as much exercise as possible without putting yourself at risk for injury.
An active mind can be a difficult thing to quantify but generally means that you are always challenging yourself and learning new things. Reading, engaging in a diversity of conversations and continually exposing yourself to new experiences are all helpful in cultivating an active mind. Learn a new sport, listen to a new genre of music, take a continuing education class at your local community college or start a book club with your friends. The most important part may be continually switching it up so that your mind stays engaged, which can stimulate new neuron firing patterns and extend your mental prowess.
Difficulty: ModerateInstructions
Step 1Exercise.
Several sets of clinical trials and research compilations recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reinforce the belief that exercise is an important element in warding off dementia and promoting cognitive abilities. Researchers in British Columbia found that resistance training is most helpful in promoting cognitive skills such as memory, decision-making and conflict resolution skills.
In a separate study conducted in Germany, researchers found that after two years of regular cardiovascular exercise elderly study participants were half as likely to have developed dementia than their less active counterparts. It is believed that regular exercise promotes blood flow to the brain and may stimulate nerve-ending growth.
Step 2Eat well.
Include lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and omega 3 acids in your diet. Concentrate on antioxidant-packed produce like spinach, garlic and blueberries. The antioxidants fight free radicals in your system and slow down the aging process. Generally the more colorful a fruit or vegetable the higher its concentration of antioxidants, so try to include five colors in your diet each day.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, make fish or flax seeds a regular part of your diet. Both foods supply omega 3, a fatty acid that has been linked to healthy brain function. Digest fats in the form of seeds, olive oil, avocados and nuts. Regular absorption of unsaturated fat is essential to healthy brain function and in addition, nuts, seeds and certain oils are a good source of vitamin E, thought to ward off Alzheimer's. Eat every three to four hours to provide steady fuel for your brain and body functions.
Step 3Drink well.
Fill up on water, coffee, tea and fresh squeezed juices. Leave sugar-packed soda, pre-prepared juice and most kinds of alcohol at the store.
Water aids in food digestion and helps flush toxins out of your system. Coffee and caffeinated tea have antioxidant powers that increase cognitive functioning. Herbal teas contain compounds that ease digestion, calm frazzled nerves and boost the immune system. Fresh squeezed juice, in moderate amounts, contains a supercharge of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
In contrast sugar-laden juice, soda and alcohol induce high blood pressure, weight gain and diabetes. Indulge in these beverage choices only occasionally to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Step 4Never stop learning.
While there has been no direct link between activities like crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles or Sudoku and cognitive improvement, it is widely accepted that continuously challenging your mind leads to stronger cognitive function.
Robin Nixon, writing for Live Science, attributed this relationship to the "use it or lose it" theory, stating that the same way that exercise keeps our bodies fit and nimble, new thought processes keep our minds flexible. She points out that there are many ways to exercise and engage your mind and suggests individuals focus on the activities that they enjoy most.
Step 5Don't stress.
Stress is toxic. It makes you sick, it's bad for your heart and it may even impair your brain function. In December 2007, the journal for the Association for Psychological Science reported that "stress hormones inhibit neuron growth in parts of the hippocampus" which results in memory impairments. They also reported that stress appears to be cumulative, meaning that the effects on your health will worsen over time.
Learn to manage the stress in your life today through activities such as deep breathing (the fight-or-flight response triggered by stress speeds respiration), journal writing, effective problem management and light reading.
Step 6Record your health.
Stay on top of all recommended health testing so that you can handle problems in a proactive manner. Schedule regular bone density tests, cholesterol tests and eye exams. Monitor your blood pressure. Men should have prostate exams and women should have mammograms and regular pap smears to detect cancerous cells in these potential problem areas early.
Visit the Mayo Clinic Web site and enter your age and gender to learn more about which health tests you should plan annually. Also, keep a health journal so that you can be clear about symptoms and concerns at doctor's visits.
Limit your consumption of alcohol and refined carbohydrates in favor of whole grain, nutritious choices that provide your body and brain with the fuel they need to thrive. Avoid saturated fat and processed sugars as they increase your risk for heart disease and diabetes. Stay hydrated and avoid soda as it saps calcium from your body and leaves you prone to broken bones later in life.
Compound the benefits of a healthy diet with at least 4 hours of exercise each week. Recent studies have suggested that some types of exercise are more beneficial than others for cognitive ability, but all exercise is certain to lower your risk for heart disease and obesity. Exercise increases your blood circulation, which increases blood flow to your brain, nourishing the organ and promoting healthy functioning. With exercise, researchers have generally found that more is better and scientists and doctors alike encourage people to get as much exercise as possible without putting yourself at risk for injury.
An active mind can be a difficult thing to quantify but generally means that you are always challenging yourself and learning new things. Reading, engaging in a diversity of conversations and continually exposing yourself to new experiences are all helpful in cultivating an active mind. Learn a new sport, listen to a new genre of music, take a continuing education class at your local community college or start a book club with your friends. The most important part may be continually switching it up so that your mind stays engaged, which can stimulate new neuron firing patterns and extend your mental prowess.
Difficulty: ModerateInstructions
Step 1Exercise.
Several sets of clinical trials and research compilations recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reinforce the belief that exercise is an important element in warding off dementia and promoting cognitive abilities. Researchers in British Columbia found that resistance training is most helpful in promoting cognitive skills such as memory, decision-making and conflict resolution skills.
In a separate study conducted in Germany, researchers found that after two years of regular cardiovascular exercise elderly study participants were half as likely to have developed dementia than their less active counterparts. It is believed that regular exercise promotes blood flow to the brain and may stimulate nerve-ending growth.
Step 2Eat well.
Include lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and omega 3 acids in your diet. Concentrate on antioxidant-packed produce like spinach, garlic and blueberries. The antioxidants fight free radicals in your system and slow down the aging process. Generally the more colorful a fruit or vegetable the higher its concentration of antioxidants, so try to include five colors in your diet each day.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, make fish or flax seeds a regular part of your diet. Both foods supply omega 3, a fatty acid that has been linked to healthy brain function. Digest fats in the form of seeds, olive oil, avocados and nuts. Regular absorption of unsaturated fat is essential to healthy brain function and in addition, nuts, seeds and certain oils are a good source of vitamin E, thought to ward off Alzheimer's. Eat every three to four hours to provide steady fuel for your brain and body functions.
Step 3Drink well.
Fill up on water, coffee, tea and fresh squeezed juices. Leave sugar-packed soda, pre-prepared juice and most kinds of alcohol at the store.
Water aids in food digestion and helps flush toxins out of your system. Coffee and caffeinated tea have antioxidant powers that increase cognitive functioning. Herbal teas contain compounds that ease digestion, calm frazzled nerves and boost the immune system. Fresh squeezed juice, in moderate amounts, contains a supercharge of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
In contrast sugar-laden juice, soda and alcohol induce high blood pressure, weight gain and diabetes. Indulge in these beverage choices only occasionally to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Step 4Never stop learning.
While there has been no direct link between activities like crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles or Sudoku and cognitive improvement, it is widely accepted that continuously challenging your mind leads to stronger cognitive function.
Robin Nixon, writing for Live Science, attributed this relationship to the "use it or lose it" theory, stating that the same way that exercise keeps our bodies fit and nimble, new thought processes keep our minds flexible. She points out that there are many ways to exercise and engage your mind and suggests individuals focus on the activities that they enjoy most.
Step 5Don't stress.
Stress is toxic. It makes you sick, it's bad for your heart and it may even impair your brain function. In December 2007, the journal for the Association for Psychological Science reported that "stress hormones inhibit neuron growth in parts of the hippocampus" which results in memory impairments. They also reported that stress appears to be cumulative, meaning that the effects on your health will worsen over time.
Learn to manage the stress in your life today through activities such as deep breathing (the fight-or-flight response triggered by stress speeds respiration), journal writing, effective problem management and light reading.
Step 6Record your health.
Stay on top of all recommended health testing so that you can handle problems in a proactive manner. Schedule regular bone density tests, cholesterol tests and eye exams. Monitor your blood pressure. Men should have prostate exams and women should have mammograms and regular pap smears to detect cancerous cells in these potential problem areas early.
Visit the Mayo Clinic Web site and enter your age and gender to learn more about which health tests you should plan annually. Also, keep a health journal so that you can be clear about symptoms and concerns at doctor's visits.
Friday, March 19, 2010
The pros and cons of working in a call center
There are two basic types of call centers: outgoing and incoming. Outgoing centers are telemarketers, bill collectors, and those that contact existing customers for various purposes. Incoming call center employees take calls but as a general rule do not make them. These centers can be to handle inquiries about advertised products and take orders. The type of call center with which I have personal experience is one that is funded by a specific company to take questions from and place orders for new or existing customers of that company. My specific experience is with technical support centers.
Providing technical support can be personally satisfying. As an agent learns more about the products and systems and the ways things can go wrong, he or she will become more adept at identifying the cause of a particular problem and the paths to explore to solve it. So the core of the job requirements, fixing problems, can be a reason to enjoy the work and feel like you are doing something valuable and productive.
Many call centers are able to offer a variety of shifts and days off, so it is often possible to schedule work times in a way that fits with other obligations (child care, school, transportation logistics, and so forth). Most of the people where I work want a daytime shift Monday through Friday so those schedules are hard to come by until you have some seniority. Why they prefer that particular schedule I do not know. I work from 430 PM to 130 AM and I like it. If the schedule you prefer is not available when you ask for it, you can always request it again at a later date.
The pay rate is not great but it is decent and increases a bit over time. I am now a coach so I make a living wage but a lot of the agents struggle to make ends meet. Strangely enough, many of those who complain the most about insufficient income decline over-time work when it is offered.
The work is indoors, in a climate-controlled environment, and never involves any heavy lifting nor does it ever involve getting dirty. It is a clean, safe place to work with nothing physically strenuous involved.
The Negative Aspects of Call Centers
The possibility of arranging a work schedule that suits you (many call centers are open 24-7) does not mean that you can miss any scheduled work times with impunity. There may be 300 other people working the same hours you do but that does not mean you can "play hooky" and get away with it. Call centers are extremely strict about enforcing scheduled work hours. Thesecenters traditionally have a high turnover rate, for a variety of reasons, but by far the number one reason for agents to get fired is schedule adherence. The rules vary from one center to another but a common practice is to give a written warning, in effect for 30 days, after just one unexcused absence. Another infraction within that 30-day period results in a second notice, this one for 60 days. Miss work within that 60 days, and you will receive a third and final warning, this one for 90 days. Miss a single day in that 90 days and you will be terminated. If you learned by skipping school that there is no penalty when you do not show up when you are supposed to, you must learn a new standard or your call center career will be short. I have heard agents bitterly condemn the way they have been treated when all they had done was to call in sick now and then. It does not matter whether you think it is fair or reasonable. If you do not have a work ethic that includes showing up on time every day you will be fired.
A corollary to what is called "schedule adherence", meaning being there on time every day you are scheduled to work, is the close monitoring of break and lunch times. If your allotted time for a break is 10 minutes and you normally take 15 minutes, the process of written reprimands will begin. If you continue to take breaks that are longer than the scheduled time, you will eventually get fired. There are solid reasons for the call center policies concerning schedule adherence and the length of breaks. The math is complex and too involved to go into here but I would be happy to explain the specifics if anybody wants to see the mathematical breakdown of the costs incurred when people do not work the full amount of time on their schedule.
Something that irks a lot of agents in call centers (it irks me, too) is the way calls are graded to monitor performance. The people who establish quality assurance parameters apparently have no concept what the customers (the people making the call for help) really want. The focus is generally highly skewed toward empathy, concern, and reassurance, with actually resolving the customer's problem taking a secondary role. I think this is because the people who grade calls do not have anywhere near the technical knowledge of the people who take calls. This means they are poorly qualified to judge how effectively and efficiently a technical problem was resolved. So they grade how well a call was handled according to rigidly prescribed standards that attach little importance (usually less than 25%) to how the technical aspects were handled. Many agents regularly make high scores because they use the scripted phrasing and constantly express concern for the problems the customer is having without actually understanding much of the technical issues involved and how to solve the problem. Conversely, some agents who have incredible knowledge and skill at diagnosing and solving technical problems make poor scores because they do not use the prescribed sugary phrases.
I think if companies were to accurately examine customers' reactions to how they were treated when they called with a technical problem, solving the problem would rank much higher than receiving a great deal of sympathy from the agent. I know that is certainly true for me. All that "how are you doing today" stuff is irrelevant. Whether I am having a bad day or a good day is none of their business. When my program is crashing and giving me a cryptic error message I just want it fixed. When my cell phone is constantly searching for a signal but not finding it I want to know how to get it working so I can use it (most likely solution for that problem, by the way, is to just turn the phone off for about 30 seconds).
If you are willing and able to show up for work on time every day you are scheduled; if you can keep your breaks and lunches within prescribed limits; if you can tolerate occasionally receiving a poor score on a call because the person who graded it did not have sufficient technical knowledge to understand the issue and how it was handled; if you can stand a fast-paced environment where the next customer is on the line immediately after the current one disconnects; if you can do all these things while engaged in a constant process of becoming more knowledgeable and proficient in your area of expertise, you may have a rewarding career at a call center. It is not strenuous, it is done indoors, and when you go home you and your clothes are just as clean as when you arrived.
Providing technical support can be personally satisfying. As an agent learns more about the products and systems and the ways things can go wrong, he or she will become more adept at identifying the cause of a particular problem and the paths to explore to solve it. So the core of the job requirements, fixing problems, can be a reason to enjoy the work and feel like you are doing something valuable and productive.
Many call centers are able to offer a variety of shifts and days off, so it is often possible to schedule work times in a way that fits with other obligations (child care, school, transportation logistics, and so forth). Most of the people where I work want a daytime shift Monday through Friday so those schedules are hard to come by until you have some seniority. Why they prefer that particular schedule I do not know. I work from 430 PM to 130 AM and I like it. If the schedule you prefer is not available when you ask for it, you can always request it again at a later date.
The pay rate is not great but it is decent and increases a bit over time. I am now a coach so I make a living wage but a lot of the agents struggle to make ends meet. Strangely enough, many of those who complain the most about insufficient income decline over-time work when it is offered.
The work is indoors, in a climate-controlled environment, and never involves any heavy lifting nor does it ever involve getting dirty. It is a clean, safe place to work with nothing physically strenuous involved.
The Negative Aspects of Call Centers
The possibility of arranging a work schedule that suits you (many call centers are open 24-7) does not mean that you can miss any scheduled work times with impunity. There may be 300 other people working the same hours you do but that does not mean you can "play hooky" and get away with it. Call centers are extremely strict about enforcing scheduled work hours. Thesecenters traditionally have a high turnover rate, for a variety of reasons, but by far the number one reason for agents to get fired is schedule adherence. The rules vary from one center to another but a common practice is to give a written warning, in effect for 30 days, after just one unexcused absence. Another infraction within that 30-day period results in a second notice, this one for 60 days. Miss work within that 60 days, and you will receive a third and final warning, this one for 90 days. Miss a single day in that 90 days and you will be terminated. If you learned by skipping school that there is no penalty when you do not show up when you are supposed to, you must learn a new standard or your call center career will be short. I have heard agents bitterly condemn the way they have been treated when all they had done was to call in sick now and then. It does not matter whether you think it is fair or reasonable. If you do not have a work ethic that includes showing up on time every day you will be fired.
A corollary to what is called "schedule adherence", meaning being there on time every day you are scheduled to work, is the close monitoring of break and lunch times. If your allotted time for a break is 10 minutes and you normally take 15 minutes, the process of written reprimands will begin. If you continue to take breaks that are longer than the scheduled time, you will eventually get fired. There are solid reasons for the call center policies concerning schedule adherence and the length of breaks. The math is complex and too involved to go into here but I would be happy to explain the specifics if anybody wants to see the mathematical breakdown of the costs incurred when people do not work the full amount of time on their schedule.
Something that irks a lot of agents in call centers (it irks me, too) is the way calls are graded to monitor performance. The people who establish quality assurance parameters apparently have no concept what the customers (the people making the call for help) really want. The focus is generally highly skewed toward empathy, concern, and reassurance, with actually resolving the customer's problem taking a secondary role. I think this is because the people who grade calls do not have anywhere near the technical knowledge of the people who take calls. This means they are poorly qualified to judge how effectively and efficiently a technical problem was resolved. So they grade how well a call was handled according to rigidly prescribed standards that attach little importance (usually less than 25%) to how the technical aspects were handled. Many agents regularly make high scores because they use the scripted phrasing and constantly express concern for the problems the customer is having without actually understanding much of the technical issues involved and how to solve the problem. Conversely, some agents who have incredible knowledge and skill at diagnosing and solving technical problems make poor scores because they do not use the prescribed sugary phrases.
I think if companies were to accurately examine customers' reactions to how they were treated when they called with a technical problem, solving the problem would rank much higher than receiving a great deal of sympathy from the agent. I know that is certainly true for me. All that "how are you doing today" stuff is irrelevant. Whether I am having a bad day or a good day is none of their business. When my program is crashing and giving me a cryptic error message I just want it fixed. When my cell phone is constantly searching for a signal but not finding it I want to know how to get it working so I can use it (most likely solution for that problem, by the way, is to just turn the phone off for about 30 seconds).
If you are willing and able to show up for work on time every day you are scheduled; if you can keep your breaks and lunches within prescribed limits; if you can tolerate occasionally receiving a poor score on a call because the person who graded it did not have sufficient technical knowledge to understand the issue and how it was handled; if you can stand a fast-paced environment where the next customer is on the line immediately after the current one disconnects; if you can do all these things while engaged in a constant process of becoming more knowledgeable and proficient in your area of expertise, you may have a rewarding career at a call center. It is not strenuous, it is done indoors, and when you go home you and your clothes are just as clean as when you arrived.
How To be a Better Person
Be the change you want to see occur in the world around you.
We can't make other people be more considerate, helpful, honest, etc., but if everyone were to work on themselves and develop these attributes, our world would be a better place.
Don't be judgmental.
Look for and recognize the good in yourself and in others. We are all capable of so-called "good" and "bad" behaviors and we all have our "good" and "off" days. We are all unique and it is wonderful that we are different and not all the same - in our appearance, our thoughts, our opinions, our likes and dislikes. Being different is not threatening, it is not "bad", it is just "different". Embrace the differences and be happy for the variety. Likewise, forget the concepts of "right" and "wrong". People are not good or bad or right or wrong; they just are. If you were in "their shoes" maybe you would act differently, or maybe not. Being judgmental wastes time and cuts you off from opportunities and meaningful relationships - because you are not perfect either, and your judgment might be worse than the person's you are judging!
Respect.
Don't make the mistake of thinking your rights are the only ones that count. Don't ignore the other person's rights. Our fundamental right is to be respected. Being wealthy does not make a person more deserving of respect and neither does a high-flying career with a fancy title. Respect is not about material issues or where one sits on the social ladder. Respect is acknowledging another human being's dignity and treating them how you wish to be treated yourself. We all came on to this earth equal and we're all checking out as equals. What happens in between is just a series of different life experiences. The poor man who lives in a slum, who cares for strangers, volunteers assistance without expecting anything in return and lives a clean, honest life is more deserving of respect than a wealthy businessman who dresses in fine clothes, lives in a huge mansion, and treats everyone like pond amoeba, cheats on his wife, swindles his shareholders and has forgotten how to tell the truth.
Be a Good Listener.
How often do you really listen to other people? How often do you plan what you are going to say next while they are talking, or allow your mind to drift off onto something else instead of concentrating on their every word? It takes practice to be a good listener, but in being one, you are showing respect and in a position to better comprehend the real message being given to you. You avoid misunderstandings and missed instructions. Furthermore, the other person will appreciate your attention and return the courtesy.
Be interested - not interesting.
This goes hand in hand with being a good listener. People love to talk about themselves and will delight in the opportunity to do so, so ensure you ask questions and take an interest in what they are telling you. Don't worry about them hogging the limelight - you can have your turn during the conversation. Have you ever met someone who only talks about themselves? Count the number of times you use "I" in your conversations. Judging, arguing points, interrupting the conversation, and using "I" a lot are sure signs you need to review your communication skills.
Respond from Your Heart.
We tend to respond to others using our head, not our heart. We formulate stories about us, we defend our ego, or we judge other people or what they have said. If we respond from our heart, we can respond with understanding and a sense of connection. Find something good to say about people and to people. Build people "up" - don't knock them down. Go with your gut instincts.
Be truthful.
There is a good reason for the saying "honesty is the best policy." Nothing good ever comes from lies, and there is a difference between being diplomatic and telling an outright lie. Nobody trusts a liar. If you've made a mistake, well, welcome to the human race! You don't have to lie to cover it up. You don't have to tell your truth "brutally", there are gentle and tactful ways of delivering truths and you should think carefully before you speak. But don't try to be deceitful because it has a habit of coming back to haunt you, and in those situations you are worse off than if you had just come clean in the first place, as uncomfortable as that may seem at the time.
Be helpful.
When you need a helping hand, don't you just love the person who comes up and offers that to you? Wouldn't you love the opportunity to repay them? You can be that person that others look to respectfully with gratitude in their hearts, who will, one day, repay the gesture. What comes around, goes around. If you want people to be helpful to you, you must be helpful to others. It doesn't matter whether this is assisting your boss with a special project you can see he needs help with, or a co-worker who is struggling with a large workload, or an elderly neighbor struggling up the stairs with her arms full. People do remember kindness.
Maintain Your Integrity and Your Dignity.
People with their integrity intact are easier to deal with in work or personal situations. They know where they stand and you know where you stand with them. You will feel better about yourself when you set your standards and stand by them and you will attract those who respect your standards and who have standards of their own. Being a doormat is disrespectful to yourself and to the person 'walking all over you'. It does not allow them to grow and learn to do something for themselves. Learn to say no gracefully. You have as much right as everyone else on the planet to have your own opinion and your own way of doing things, and reminding you of point (1) above, nobody has the right to make you feel 'bad' if you think, feel or dress differently. Remember, "to thine own self be true."
Go the Extra Mile.
I mean this in a couple of ways. First, whether you are either asked to do something, or you are offering to do something, remember that if something is worth doing in the first place, then it is worth doing well. And while you are at it, what little touches can you offer to improve it? For example, who would you rather go to for your shoeshine… Mr. A does a wonderful buff and polish and is timely and not too expensive. Mr. B also does a wonderful buff and polish, he is also timely and not expensive, but he is also cheerful and interested in you and whistles while he works, so after your polish, you go on your way feeling on top of the world! Mr. B just went the extra mile for you. He didn't just polish your shoes, he lifted your spirits and made you feel good. If you are offering a co-worker assistance with copying some documents, go the extra mile and ask if she needs a hand stapling them or collating them. Going the extra mile need not involve a large expense of time, energy or money, but it's value to the recipient is often priceless, and one day, it will be reciprocated.
Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say.
Neither beat around the bush being evasive, nor make promises you can't keep. On the other hand, if you say you are going to do something, do it. Be known as a reliable person. Honor your promises and agreements wherever possible - this stems back to integrity. Prepare to be flexible if need be, but know that you don't have to bend over so far backwards that your back snaps. Being assertive and being aggressive are two entirely different things, and you do not need aggression to be assertive. In fact, you are better off without the aggression! If you are wishy-washy and allow people or circumstances to be unconcerned for your position, you will develop that reputation and find more and more people willing to walk all over you and more situations in which it occurs. Being like this does not prove you are valuable to anybody - it just means you are a 'pushover'.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Scientists go 'gaga' to find creatures beneath 600 feet of ice
This video frame grab image provided by NASA, taken in Dec. 2009, shows a Lyssianasid amphipod, which is related to a shrimp, where a NASA team lowered a video camera to get the first long look at the underbelly of an ice sheet and a curious shrimp-like creature came swimming by and then even parked itself on the cable attached to the camera. In a surprising discovery that shakes the idea of where higher life can thrive, scientists for the first time found a shrimp-like creature and a jellyfish frolicking beneath a massive Antarctic ice sheet.(AP Photo/NASA)
WASHINGTON – In a surprising discovery about where higher life can thrive, scientists for the first time found a shrimp-like creature and a jellyfish frolicking beneath a massive Antarctic ice sheet.
Six hundred feet below the ice where no light shines, scientists had figured nothing much more than a few microbes could exist.
That's why a NASA team was surprised when they lowered a video camera to get the first long look at the underbelly of an ice sheet in Antarctica. A curious shrimp-like creature came swimming by and then parked itself on the camera's cable. Scientists also pulled up a tentacle they believe came from a foot-long jellyfish.
"We were operating on the presumption that nothing's there," said NASA ice scientist Robert Bindschadler, who will be presenting the initial findings and a video at an American Geophysical Union meeting Wednesday. "It was a shrimp you'd enjoy having on your plate."
"We were just gaga over it," he said of the 3-inch-long, orange critter starring in their two-minute video. Technically, it's not a shrimp. It's a Lyssianasid amphipod, which is distantly related to shrimp.
The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists musing that if shrimp-like creatures can frolic below 600 feet of Antarctic ice in subfreezing dark water, what about other hostile places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?
"They are looking at the equivalent of a drop of water in a swimming pool that you would expect nothing to be living in and they found not one animal but two," said biologist Stacy Kim of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California, who joined the NASA team later. "We have no idea what's going on down there."
Microbiologist Cynan Ellis-Evans of the British Antarctic Survey called the finding intriguing.
"This is a first for the sub-glacial environment with that level of sophistication," Ellis-Evans said. He said there have been findings somewhat similar, showing complex life in retreating ice shelves, but nothing quite directly under the ice like this.
Ellis-Evans said it's possible the creatures swam in from far away and don't live there permanently.
But Kim, who is a co-author of the study, doubts it. The site in West Antarctica is at least 12 miles from open seas. Bindschadler drilled an 8-inch-wide hole and was looking at a tiny amount of water. That means it's unlikely that that two critters swam from great distances and were captured randomly in that small of an area, she said.
Yet scientists were puzzled at what the food source would be for these critters. While some microbes can make their own food out of chemicals in the ocean, complex life like the amphipod can't, Kim said.
So how do they survive? That's the key question, Kim said.
"It's pretty amazing when you find a huge puzzle like that on a planet where we thought we know everything," Kim said.
___
On the Web:
NASA research in Antarctica: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_sc/storytext/us_sci_antarctica_sea_life/35474306/SIG=10ug1c6q5/*http://pigiceshelf.nasa.gov/
Six hundred feet below the ice where no light shines, scientists had figured nothing much more than a few microbes could exist.
That's why a NASA team was surprised when they lowered a video camera to get the first long look at the underbelly of an ice sheet in Antarctica. A curious shrimp-like creature came swimming by and then parked itself on the camera's cable. Scientists also pulled up a tentacle they believe came from a foot-long jellyfish.
"We were operating on the presumption that nothing's there," said NASA ice scientist Robert Bindschadler, who will be presenting the initial findings and a video at an American Geophysical Union meeting Wednesday. "It was a shrimp you'd enjoy having on your plate."
"We were just gaga over it," he said of the 3-inch-long, orange critter starring in their two-minute video. Technically, it's not a shrimp. It's a Lyssianasid amphipod, which is distantly related to shrimp.
The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists musing that if shrimp-like creatures can frolic below 600 feet of Antarctic ice in subfreezing dark water, what about other hostile places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?
"They are looking at the equivalent of a drop of water in a swimming pool that you would expect nothing to be living in and they found not one animal but two," said biologist Stacy Kim of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California, who joined the NASA team later. "We have no idea what's going on down there."
Microbiologist Cynan Ellis-Evans of the British Antarctic Survey called the finding intriguing.
"This is a first for the sub-glacial environment with that level of sophistication," Ellis-Evans said. He said there have been findings somewhat similar, showing complex life in retreating ice shelves, but nothing quite directly under the ice like this.
Ellis-Evans said it's possible the creatures swam in from far away and don't live there permanently.
But Kim, who is a co-author of the study, doubts it. The site in West Antarctica is at least 12 miles from open seas. Bindschadler drilled an 8-inch-wide hole and was looking at a tiny amount of water. That means it's unlikely that that two critters swam from great distances and were captured randomly in that small of an area, she said.
Yet scientists were puzzled at what the food source would be for these critters. While some microbes can make their own food out of chemicals in the ocean, complex life like the amphipod can't, Kim said.
So how do they survive? That's the key question, Kim said.
"It's pretty amazing when you find a huge puzzle like that on a planet where we thought we know everything," Kim said.
___
On the Web:
NASA research in Antarctica: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_sc/storytext/us_sci_antarctica_sea_life/35474306/SIG=10ug1c6q5/*http://pigiceshelf.nasa.gov/
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